MK5 Golf GTI
All Things Mk5 => Mk5 General Area => Topic started by: edd666999 on May 11, 2010, 05:19:12 am
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will be getting coilovers at the end of the month and i was pretty happy with the idea of getting some AP's....But when enquiring on price i was told for another £50 i can get a set of weitec's.
i was told that they are the same as the ap's but are made in Germany by KW and not in china to KW standards.
Any comments? personal choice? worth the £50?
i do 6000 miles a year and that's mainly motorway, plan on doing 1 or 2 track days. They will be paired up with some eibach ARB's and WALK anti lift.
Thanks!
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Personally I would spend my suspension money here:
http://www.bilstein.de/products/sport-and-threaded-ride-high-adjustable-kits/bilstein-b12.html
Nothing comes close to the Bilstein B12 for the money. I would much rather spend my money on a top of the range fixed rate/height suspension kit than a bottom of the range coilover kit.
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i do 6000 miles a year and that's mainly motorway, plan on doing 1 or 2 track days. They will be paired up with some eibach ARB's and WALK anti lift.
....Which means you are virtually guaranteed to want to do more trackdays! So try and buy with as long term plans as possible is my advice. And save up for some better adjustable coilovers such as Bilstein or KW-V3's.
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When i was in the market for coilovers, i looked at bilsteins, kws, weitecs and ap.
Aps are ment to be more road orientated than weitecs and more comfortable. When i phoned up VWR and asked there advice on what suspension to get, they told me the V3s were good but couldnt really justify the price of them as they thought the Aps were the best option for a few track days and fast road use ! , in the end i didnt listen to them and ended up buying the Kws, mainly due to resale values, the inox body and the fact that better internals are used, Ive also had these on previous cars and was very happy with them.
My mate has the weitecs and the are very good, on par with the kws with only lesser grade components used.
So basically quality wise from research ive learned that the aps have different internals, very good on road, comfortable, and great for a few track days.
The weitecs are a halfway house, made in germany, pretty much the same as the KWS with cheaper materials and build costs. Like i said my mate has these and they are bloody good.
Kws, better internals / materials, good for track work and not too harsh on the road unless you live in potholeville.
Another option and is bilstein B12 shocks and springs, they are not coilovers and will lower the car 30mm, the damping on these and comfort levels are superb and are brilliant for track work, the only reason im not running them is i heard a few people having rubbing issues with going down 30mm and the fact that i go up a few dirt tracks so due to the fact i couldnt adjust the height up if required meant this was a No No for me. !
On VWRs advice id probably go for the Aps, lets face it they know what they are talking about, but saying that the weitecs are perhaps a bit better quality and they are very good.
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unless you go for the bilstien pss10 which are height adjustable aswell and are still a couple of hundred cheaper than the v3's
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bilstein wins for me over KWs everytime purely on the ajustability.
I dont get the KW V3's really for the every day drivers. whats the point in having such adjustable suspension when all the adjustment is at the top of the strut out of reach.
I was told you needed to disconnect the top mounts from the car to get to the adjustment dials. So when you fancy changing the settings you have to do that and hope you get it right first time, otherwise you will strip it again, You might even need to do Go after it as well.
h billies could be done in minutes
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I'm getting a set of KW V3's this month.... i only want them for a nice stance (as my Eibach pro Sport) and comfort... are these the best to go for ?
Never go on track days...and never really race hard
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IMO you are wastin your money then getting V3's. V2s are still adjustable(just not to the extent of V3s) in your case id say they makemore sense.
think about the bilsteins though. If you want them comfortable , 2 minutes around the car and you could set the damping to a softer setting and drive around in comfort then if you fancied a spirited drive you just give the knos a quick turn and you wil have a weapon again. Ask hurdy, he tried his on all sorts of different settings when he first got them iirc
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I'm getting a set of KW V3's this month.... i only want them for a nice stance (as my Eibach pro Sport) and comfort... are these the best to go for ?
Never go on track days...and never really race hard
Honestly bilstein b12s for stance comfort and drivability, if you want coilovers for comfort the aps seem to be the best if you are on a budget.
There is far too much adjustability on the V3s for road use, and you can f*ck them right up if you dont know what you are doing, as said the bilsteins are the best coilies on the market in that price range, but agin very adjustable which i just didnt need, the v2s are only adjustable in rebound which is does nothing really for comfort, the V1s are height only adjustable which is all i was looking for, set up in the factory by people who know what they are doing ! Im never going to out drive the car so i dont need any adustability a happy medium is fine good for the road and track, The Kws are great, they sort out the end squirm that the OEM set up suffers from :happy2:
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thanks for the replys guys alot of love for kw's which i expected but cant really justify that cost!
i know im looking at the high end budget sets (not quite the £200 sets on ebay) im only going to be keeping the car about 2years which is 12000miles and not lot of time for saving!
so unless a set come up for sale 2nd hand of either the kw's or bilsteins i wont be able to get those.
the When i was in the market for coilovers, i looked at bilsteins, kws, weitecs and ap.
Aps are ment to be more road orientated than weitecs and more comfortable. When i phoned up VWR and asked there advice on what suspension to get, they told me the V3s were good but couldnt really justify the price of them as they thought the Aps were the best option for a few track days and fast road use ! , in the end i didnt listen to them and ended up buying the Kws, mainly due to resale values, the inox body and the fact that better internals are used, Ive also had these on previous cars and was very happy with them.
My mate has the weitecs and the are very good, on par with the kws with only lesser grade components used.
So basically quality wise from research ive learned that the aps have different internals, very good on road, comfortable, and great for a few track days.
The weitecs are a halfway house, made in germany, pretty much the same as the KWS with cheaper materials and build costs. Like i said my mate has these and they are bloody good.
Kws, better internals / materials, good for track work and not too harsh on the road unless you live in potholeville.
Another option and is bilstein B12 shocks and springs, they are not coilovers and will lower the car 30mm, the damping on these and comfort levels are superb and are brilliant for track work, the only reason im not running them is i heard a few people having rubbing issues with going down 30mm and the fact that i go up a few dirt tracks so due to the fact i couldnt adjust the height up if required meant this was a No No for me. !
On VWRs advice id probably go for the Aps, lets face it they know what they are talking about, but saying that the weitecs are perhaps a bit better quality and they are very good.
thanks for that, it kinda summed up what i knew and has made (as much as people may not agree) my argument for the weitecs a little stronger! i have yet to find someone thats actually running the weitecs though as would love to see a car/ be in one running them before buying!
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I'm getting a set of KW V3's this month.... i only want them for a nice stance (as my Eibach pro Sport) and comfort... are these the best to go for ?
Never go on track days...and never really race hard
:surprised: Rich theres no way id be spending £1300 on coillies if i wasnt going to use them for what there designed for, just get some AP's for like £450 and wind em down low or a bit more quality and get the KW v1s as there just hieght adjustable
You really dont need fully adjustable coillies just to get a good stance.
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^^^^
KW-V3's aren't difficult to adjust and mine don't have adjustable top mounts. But Bilsteins (like Hurdy's) are much easier to adjust.
If it wasn't for advice and relationship with VWR, I'd have gone for Bilstein but I'm still very happy with my V3's.
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Right,
I am a little confused.
All i am after is stance (like my pro sportline springs 35mm drop) and as much comfort as possible.
Do i go for the Blisteins B12's ( but they only drop 30mm ) i would like at least 35mm http://www.europerformance.co.uk/pages/products/category_results.mhtml?category=bilsteinb12suspensionkits&car=vwgolf5&manufacturer=bilst&sub_category=1
What else can i go for that drops 35mm at least and gives good comfort ?
Need help here !!!
Richard
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I'm using AP's at the minute and for fast road use I can't fault them for the money. The ride is better than std and the control over the bumps is less choppy. I drove Mike's Cupra on the V3's on Sunday, although the body control was excellent it was harsh over the bumps, although he did say he's not to sure what they are set at and could be the stiffest for all he know's :smiley:
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as mentioned already VWR recommend the AP's but at the risk of corrosion over time, if thats not an issue for you ed i would go that route.
B14's sound good, i have been thinking about them or KWV2's. personally im after good handling and something stainless that will last, not really sure i need adjust ability so may consider B12's, anyone know if you can buy just the shocks as i have the H&R's already :confused:
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^^^^
Just because your coilovers have adjustability it doesn't mean you have to keep adjusting them. Mine have only been adjusted only once (for ride height) since they were properly setup by Mark Farmer @ VWR which included corner weighting the car.
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FRedRobin_05%2FMods%2FVWR_Alignment.jpg&hash=c09f9d826e3dba6b47598b83fa8fd86aee359379)
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as mentioned already VWR recommend the AP's but at the risk of corrosion over time, if thats not an issue for you ed i would go that route.
B14's sound good, i have been thinking about them or KWV2's. personally im after good handling and something stainless that will last, not really sure i need adjust ability so may consider B12's, anyone know if you can buy just the shocks as i have the H&R's already :confused:
Yip you can buy the shockies seprate, Bilstein actually use H&R springs on the B12 kits anyway.
Oh, Very good choice mate :happy2:
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as mentioned already VWR recommend the AP's but at the risk of corrosion over time, if thats not an issue for you ed i would go that route.
B14's sound good, i have been thinking about them or KWV2's. personally im after good handling and something stainless that will last, not really sure i need adjust ability so may consider B12's, anyone know if you can buy just the shocks as i have the H&R's already :confused:
Yip you can buy the shockies seprate, Bilstein actually use H&R springs on the B12 kits anyway.
Oh, Very good choice mate :happy2:
I looked at buying shocks to match the H&R springs I already had and it was more money than the AP's and wanted a little lower, I'm not saying that the AP's are a better set-up than decent dampers and H&R springs in fact I think that would be a very good road set-up I just wanted a little lower :smiley:
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i do 6000 miles a year and that's mainly motorway, plan on doing 1 or 2 track days. They will be paired up with some eibach ARB's and WALK anti lift.
....Which means you are virtually guaranteed to want to do more trackdays! So try and buy with as long term plans as possible is my advice. And save up for some better adjustable coilovers such as Bilstein or KW-V3's.
stupid question but aren't all the coilovers adjustable ??? :scared:
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i do 6000 miles a year and that's mainly motorway, plan on doing 1 or 2 track days. They will be paired up with some eibach ARB's and WALK anti lift.
....Which means you are virtually guaranteed to want to do more trackdays! So try and buy with as long term plans as possible is my advice. And save up for some better adjustable coilovers such as Bilstein or KW-V3's.
stupid question but aren't all the coilovers adjustable ??? :scared:
the height is, but we are talking damping, some have compression, some rebound, some both :happy2:
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I'm getting a set of KW V3's this month.... i only want them for a nice stance (as my Eibach pro Sport) and comfort... are these the best to go for ?
Never go on track days...and never really race hard
on the ed30/pirelli if your going for stance imo you cant go wrong with eibach sportlines and 8 mm wheel spacers
(http://)(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2Fn374%2Fcandyturbo_2008%2Fpictures013.jpg&hash=ed816c1a3847d2998154cf863cd570e1fb27df8a)
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i do 6000 miles a year and that's mainly motorway, plan on doing 1 or 2 track days. They will be paired up with some eibach ARB's and WALK anti lift.
....Which means you are virtually guaranteed to want to do more trackdays! So try and buy with as long term plans as possible is my advice. And save up for some better adjustable coilovers such as Bilstein or KW-V3's.
stupid question but aren't all the coilovers adjustable ??? :scared:
yeh in height but not all in damping and rebound :happy2:
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Ive got a shock on my bike that has rebound, high speed compression, low speed compression, preload, and threshhold damping now thats mental :laugh:
You can totaly customise it from rack to track though.
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when i was looking into lowering mine i looked into all sorts of different kits for lowering i choose kw v1 over any thing because of the rust that salt of the road can cause..here is a link
http://www.kw-suspension.co.uk/salt-spray-test.htm
Rich if your ever up near Richmond your welcome to take my car out and see what you thing of the kw coil overs
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I'm thinking KW V2 are my best bet then in terms of corrosion-free, ride and mid comfort ?
Anyone else disagree - hope im making the right choice ?
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you will be fine with the kw varient 1 to be honest Rich
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go for it mate, you cant go far wrong with KW as they are a top brand using top quality materials
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KW1's will be fine Rich if your just after ride height adjustment and real quality :smiley:
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I'm thinking KW V2 are my best bet then in terms of corrosion-free, ride and mid comfort ?
Anyone else disagree - hope im making the right choice ?
I used to have the V2's Rich and the ride is more comfortable than stock, they are great. :happy2:
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I'm thinking KW V2 are my best bet then in terms of corrosion-free, ride and mid comfort ?
Anyone else disagree - hope im making the right choice ?
I used to have the V2's Rich and the ride is more comfortable than stock, they are great. :happy2:
V2 it is :)
Now where is the cheapest place to get them :signLOL: ?
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Last time i looked Balance motorsport would match the cheapest price you could find, and Julian the owner is very nice with good advice. :wink:
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There shouldnt be a ride quality diferance between V1s and V2s ive had both, i had a play about with the rebound on the v2s and basically felt it was best on the factory recommened setting which the v1s are set at anyway, so i thought it was pointless going for the v2s this time, plus it saved me a few squid, if you fancy the v2s though go for it, they are great, its just that i didnt use the rebound on it :happy2:
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I have tried and tested most aftermarket suspension solutions, from the bottom of the market FK and Gmax stuff right to 8k+ Bilstein setups. I find the B12 setup to be the best on most cars that use the MK5 platform, nothing else has impressed me that greatly. In comparison the KW and AP setups seem a bit to harsh.
Suspension is a very subjective upgrage, we get people come in with some really rubbish ebay coilovers that have broken after 3 months claiming that they were fantastic and the handling was great although they then realise how bad it was when they freplace them with something good. Until you have tried a few setups you cant judge how good it actually is, most buyers dont get this opportunity, I am fortunate that I do :smiley: but what I like may not be someone elses ideal.
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I'm getting a set of KW V3's this month.... i only want them for a nice stance (as my Eibach pro Sport) and comfort... are these the best to go for ?
Never go on track days...and never really race hard
on the ed30/pirelli if your going for stance imo you cant go wrong with eibach sportlines and 8 mm wheel spacers
(http://)(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2Fn374%2Fcandyturbo_2008%2Fpictures013.jpg&hash=ed816c1a3847d2998154cf863cd570e1fb27df8a)
Is there any difference between the GTI and Ed30 stance heights coming from stock ?
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Is there any difference between the GTI and Ed30 stance heights coming from stock ?
....Nope. Same suspension, same DSG box, same lots of things.
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I'm thinking KW V2 are my best bet then in terms of corrosion-free, ride and mid comfort ?
Anyone else disagree - hope im making the right choice ?
I used to have the V2's Rich and the ride is more comfortable than stock, they are great. :happy2:
V2 it is :)
Now where is the cheapest place to get them :signLOL: ?
im glad we have been able to help you make a decision to buy kw's in a thread with a subject "WEITEC or AP's?" :signLOL: :signLOL::signLOL: :signLOL: :signLOL: